Sister's call to ban 'exit' book- another Exit death.

The Australian Newspaper today told another story of a family grieving at the losss of a loved one mixed up with Exit International.

This story of the death of Western Australian mother of four, Erin Berg did get some media coverage after Erin's death in 2008. Her sister Ms Doyle is calling for the banning of The Peaceful Pill Handbook which, while banned from sale in Australia, is surprisingly still available in local libraries. (Maybe you might check out your local library and ask them to remove their copy!)

Echoing the earlier comments of Judi Taylor, that her son, Lucas, was effectively 'death coached'by the Exit International network, the report said:

Ms Doyle says her sister received similar assistance from Dr Nitschke as Lucas Taylor, a 26-year-old language teacher, who died as a result of "death coaching" by Nitschke's Exit International online site, the Peaceful Pill Forum.

Erin had secretly withdrawn from her local library Nitschke's book, Killing Me Softly: Voluntary Euthanasia and the Peaceful Pill, underlining passages that she believed would help her.

As was also the case with Lucas Taylor, Ms Doyle traced the connections to Exit:

"We confirmed with Exit International that there was a written record of her speaking to one of the nurses who was manning the phones, and asking about the use of Nembutal," Ms Doyle said. "Erin presented herself as a cancer victim, but she was in fact severely mentally ill."

So much for any gatekeeping or any social responsibility.

Ms Doyle told The Australian:

"We are not seeking to restrict freedom of speech," she says. "But we feel that Exit International peddles dangerous and grossly inaccurate information to vulnerable people."

"Nitschke talks about a 'peaceful death' and how it is a foolproof drug. But Erin's was a horrible death."

Ms Doyle was alluding to the fact that her she was with her sister in Mexico when Erin died an agonising death. As we reported earlier, about one in five cases of assisted suicide in one Oregon study required a doctor's intervention after the process went horribly wrong. Yes, the information is inaccurate - but that's the sales pitch for supposed dying with dignity by a supposed peaceful pill!

Sign the Petition: HOPE is sponsoring an international online petition to the Australian Attorney-General asking for a national inquiry into the operations of Exit International and Mr Nitschke.